I have finally returned to the land of beauty boxes! lol I believe the last beauty box I purchased was way back in February, when I went with Beauty Box 5. Geez, that was five months ago. Well, I did say I'd try all kinds of boxes within my budget. But I have come home (lol) and this month I went with a beauty box. I had a bit of a hard time choosing this month because I saw so many of them that I liked, but I finally chose one; I do surveys with Allure sometimes and keep running across their beauty box through ads so I said what the hell. lol
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What is it?
Allure Sample Society, partnered with Beauty Bar, is a beauty box with products selected exclusively by the editors of Allure magazine. Fragrances, skincare, hair and makeup are all included in these boxes and each month the editors will select 5 deluxe-sized samples to send to the subscribers.
How much does it cost?
$15/mo
Sign-up and ordering:
Signing up for the site was easy, as always, and I signed up for the site at the same time I ordered my subscription. Ordering the box was just as easy as the other sites; I believe I filled out a small beauty profile after ordering my box and that was that. When my order was completed, I found out the date that the box would be shipping, and I like that more of these box services are including that bit of info for us.
Delivery & cancellation:
I ordered my box back on the 2nd. After ordering my box, the site informed me that my box would be shipping out on the 11th of the month. As with all of the other boxes, I got a confirmation email on the 11th when it shipped, and I received it on the 18th via UPS. The box came in good shape; it wasn't dented and even though one of my products had spilled a bit, everything else was fine. There were no cracks or other damage to the box or any of the other products. Cancelling my subscription was easy as well; under the Account section the 'cancel subscription' link is easy to find. Once it's cancelled, you get a confirmation email and your name is removed from the company's email list as well.
What came in my box?
Here's what came in my box.
Fekkai PrX Reparatives Intense Fortifying Hair Masque, $24.99/7oz.
This was the product that had spilled a little bit in the box, but one very good thing about that is that I was able to get a healthy whiff of what it smelled like and I love it. It reminds me of what I'd expect to smell in an upscale spa and resort. It smells of something high quality. I rubbed some of it into my hands as I was cleaning the outside of the container off and hell's bells, my hands felt so soft and moisturized so I was intrigued, like if this is what my hands feel like what will it do to my hair? My hands were also a little sticky, but seeing as how this is a hair and not a hand product, I sort of expected it. I was sick when I first received the box so I had to wait until I was feeling better to try it out.
The instructions say to put this on immediately after hopping in the shower and wash it out just before you get out. I did that and went on to do the rest of my shower biz, so I guess I left the masque in for about 10-12 minutes. I rinsed it out and at first, I didn't feel anything different at all. The texture of my hair hadn't changed, it smelled amazing, but it didn't feel any different. But after it dried? Fab-u-lous! It was much easier to comb out, was less prone to tangles, and did I mention that my hair smelled like heaven? It's very fragrant; if I turned my head or walked anywhere I had a constant whiff of this stuff hitting my nostrils, even after I pulled my hair up. I straightened my hair the day after using the masque and the smell of the hot comb dampened the smell of the masque, but my hair is now straighter than normal, much much softer, lighter and shinier than normal, and it didn't take half as long to straighten. I am in love with this stuff.
Butter London Nail Lacquer in Champers, $15/.4oz
This is advertised as being a shimmery rose gold color, but it looks like a mix between that and a shimmery sand. I think it's perfect for summer. It didn't clump when I applied it on my nails, the color seems to intensify a little bit with multiple coats, and there aren't any formaldehydes, DBP, toluene or carcinogens. It still has that nail polish smell, but it's 10x lighter than a lot of other brands and I liked that. I painted some of my nails with this the day after I received it and spent the next morning with my hands in chemicals and water, and it still didn't chip. I didn't see significant chipping in the entire week I've had this on; a light coat easily covers up any chipping at the top of the nail (which is where I notice this one primarily chips at) and you're good for another few days. This polish is awesome and has become my new summer favorite.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris Aqua Universalis Eau de Toilette, $175/2.4oz
First of all, that price is hellacious. LOL But moving on, this perfume contains citrus, floral and musky notes in it and while it's not something I would wear everyday, it does smell wonderful. This perfume has Sicilian bergamot and lemon, lily of the valley, mock orange blossom and a musk base. The light hint of lilies in the perfume reminds me of the vanilla notes in the English Laundry (I think that's the one) perfume I sampled earlier this year; they smell a bit similar but this one has stronger citrus and floral notes. All of the elements combine flawlessly with each other in this perfume. First it's sort of lemony and woodsy, then you get a hit of the lily and orange blossom, then you get the musk. After a few more minutes, the majority of the scent has settled but by then it's more well-rounded and you can smell a hint of everything. Overall, this perfume isn't very heavy on the nose at all after it has settled but it definitely has the potential to overwhelm if you drown yourself in it. If applied correctly, it will be light and pleasant to the nostrils and last for awhile.
L'Oreal Paris Extraordinaire by Color Riche Liquid Lipcolor in Coral Encore, $9.99
This is my first time trying out a L'Oreal lipcolor of any kind--actually, now that I think about it, this is my first time trying a L'Oreal product at all that isn't the face wash. I love me a good coral lip, but most of the shades I considered trying had a bit too much orange in them and I didn't like how they looked on me. This one gets it right, though. It looks a bit bubblegum-ish both in the container and when you first apply it, but after the color is blended out it looks more like a mix between a sheer coral and pink. It's thick, not quite as thick as a lacquer, but not as thin as a regular gloss. It has a bit of a shimmery finish but it's still very pigmented. It's also very buildable, so if you just apply one thin layer like I did it still allows the color of your lips to come through, but if you apply more layers or another product to it the color will intensify. With one thin layer it wasn't sticky but still pretty vivid. It smells like candy, too. Another summer fave on days with light makeup.
Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder in Highlighter 01, $36
Fekkai PrX Reparatives Intense Fortifying Hair Masque, $24.99/7oz.
This was the product that had spilled a little bit in the box, but one very good thing about that is that I was able to get a healthy whiff of what it smelled like and I love it. It reminds me of what I'd expect to smell in an upscale spa and resort. It smells of something high quality. I rubbed some of it into my hands as I was cleaning the outside of the container off and hell's bells, my hands felt so soft and moisturized so I was intrigued, like if this is what my hands feel like what will it do to my hair? My hands were also a little sticky, but seeing as how this is a hair and not a hand product, I sort of expected it. I was sick when I first received the box so I had to wait until I was feeling better to try it out.
The instructions say to put this on immediately after hopping in the shower and wash it out just before you get out. I did that and went on to do the rest of my shower biz, so I guess I left the masque in for about 10-12 minutes. I rinsed it out and at first, I didn't feel anything different at all. The texture of my hair hadn't changed, it smelled amazing, but it didn't feel any different. But after it dried? Fab-u-lous! It was much easier to comb out, was less prone to tangles, and did I mention that my hair smelled like heaven? It's very fragrant; if I turned my head or walked anywhere I had a constant whiff of this stuff hitting my nostrils, even after I pulled my hair up. I straightened my hair the day after using the masque and the smell of the hot comb dampened the smell of the masque, but my hair is now straighter than normal, much much softer, lighter and shinier than normal, and it didn't take half as long to straighten. I am in love with this stuff.
Butter London Nail Lacquer in Champers, $15/.4oz
This is advertised as being a shimmery rose gold color, but it looks like a mix between that and a shimmery sand. I think it's perfect for summer. It didn't clump when I applied it on my nails, the color seems to intensify a little bit with multiple coats, and there aren't any formaldehydes, DBP, toluene or carcinogens. It still has that nail polish smell, but it's 10x lighter than a lot of other brands and I liked that. I painted some of my nails with this the day after I received it and spent the next morning with my hands in chemicals and water, and it still didn't chip. I didn't see significant chipping in the entire week I've had this on; a light coat easily covers up any chipping at the top of the nail (which is where I notice this one primarily chips at) and you're good for another few days. This polish is awesome and has become my new summer favorite.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris Aqua Universalis Eau de Toilette, $175/2.4oz
First of all, that price is hellacious. LOL But moving on, this perfume contains citrus, floral and musky notes in it and while it's not something I would wear everyday, it does smell wonderful. This perfume has Sicilian bergamot and lemon, lily of the valley, mock orange blossom and a musk base. The light hint of lilies in the perfume reminds me of the vanilla notes in the English Laundry (I think that's the one) perfume I sampled earlier this year; they smell a bit similar but this one has stronger citrus and floral notes. All of the elements combine flawlessly with each other in this perfume. First it's sort of lemony and woodsy, then you get a hit of the lily and orange blossom, then you get the musk. After a few more minutes, the majority of the scent has settled but by then it's more well-rounded and you can smell a hint of everything. Overall, this perfume isn't very heavy on the nose at all after it has settled but it definitely has the potential to overwhelm if you drown yourself in it. If applied correctly, it will be light and pleasant to the nostrils and last for awhile.
L'Oreal Paris Extraordinaire by Color Riche Liquid Lipcolor in Coral Encore, $9.99
This is my first time trying out a L'Oreal lipcolor of any kind--actually, now that I think about it, this is my first time trying a L'Oreal product at all that isn't the face wash. I love me a good coral lip, but most of the shades I considered trying had a bit too much orange in them and I didn't like how they looked on me. This one gets it right, though. It looks a bit bubblegum-ish both in the container and when you first apply it, but after the color is blended out it looks more like a mix between a sheer coral and pink. It's thick, not quite as thick as a lacquer, but not as thin as a regular gloss. It has a bit of a shimmery finish but it's still very pigmented. It's also very buildable, so if you just apply one thin layer like I did it still allows the color of your lips to come through, but if you apply more layers or another product to it the color will intensify. With one thin layer it wasn't sticky but still pretty vivid. It smells like candy, too. Another summer fave on days with light makeup.
Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder in Highlighter 01, $36
Because I'm a hopeless YouTube addict, I was already a bit familiar with the Laura Mercier brand but more so with the skincare and foundation products. I don't clearly remember seeing the highlighter in the videos I watched, but it was exciting to see that I'd received this highlighter in my box anyway because I've heard rave reviews about a lot of the products. After swatching the highlighter, I can see why I've heard so many positive reviews. A highlighter in the shade I received definitely has potential to look chalky on my skin and products in the same shade but of lesser quality end up looking just as I said. This one, however, despite being very pigmented, blends out beautifully so that you have a subtle highlight and glow. It's easy to blend, buildable and versatile so I could (and probably will) use this as a shadow or brow highlight at some point when I want a simple makeup look.
Allure Sample Society booklet
The purpose of this booklet was to provide more information on each of the samples, with a note from the editor at the beginning on why each of the products were chosen for this month's box. Instead of a bunch of filler cards from each company taking up space in the box, there was just this little booklet that tells you everything you want to know. Each product has its own page, with information on what it is, why it was chosen, how it works and the full-size price, which saves you from having to go search online, another of my usual complaints. There was no useless information in this booklet and I loved that.
My thoughts:
At first, it was difficult for me to go from the 6-10 products per box that I'd become accustomed to over the past few months to just 5 products, but that was just subscription box greed. LOL The 5 products that I received were regular-sized products and all were of good quality. No small samples in sealed sample containers. No tiny, single-use portions. Each of these products (excluding the perfume, which was in the purse-size spray sample you usually get nowadays) were in sizes that provided long usage and were well worth the $15 I paid for the box, especially considering that the full price of each of these products is either a few dollars less or much more than my subscription. Each product in this box was useful to me, which was amazing as usually one of my complaints is that I wasn't able to use everything in the box. That wasn't the case here at all. Another reason why I liked the fact that I was able to use everything in the box is because I didn't have to fill out a beauty profile or preference survey so that the company could match me up with more personalized samples, which was initially one of my concerns. When I don't fill those out and sometimes even when I do, I don't always end up with a box full of beauty products that fit me. Again, that wasn't the case here at all.
Something I liked on Beauty Bar's website was that each category had a section called a "Beauty Brief" in which various recommendations were made for customers on what products in the section to purchase. Now some of these companies do have recommendations, but they're usually the new products, the best-selling ones or just random selections. There were no chosen selections for each specific visitor, but when you go to a particular category, say perfumes for example, at the bottom of the page are different recommendations of perfumes offered based on people's tastes. I think for a beginner to the site like myself, knowing which direction to go in based on what I like is a pretty good way to start off.
Something I liked on Beauty Bar's website was that each category had a section called a "Beauty Brief" in which various recommendations were made for customers on what products in the section to purchase. Now some of these companies do have recommendations, but they're usually the new products, the best-selling ones or just random selections. There were no chosen selections for each specific visitor, but when you go to a particular category, say perfumes for example, at the bottom of the page are different recommendations of perfumes offered based on people's tastes. I think for a beginner to the site like myself, knowing which direction to go in based on what I like is a pretty good way to start off.
The site was pretty large (by my 'expert' standards LOL) and extensive in terms of the included categories and products. That's another reason why the Beauty Brief was a good thing in my book; it is easy to get lost in the site and still not know which products to select without some sort of help. My experience with the site was pretty good; throughout the month I wasn't bombarded by emails, deals and supposed discounts and when I did visit the site, it was easy to find what I was looking for.
I liked that the box was simple in design, content and other materials; the only thing that I can say I didn't like too much was the little filler paper. I do much better with the usual gift wrap paper that comes with my boxes; the crinkly little papers was pretty annoying to deal with after a minute. I wish that some of the products were more affordable in full-price, but these were high-end products so I'm glad that I at least got to try them out. That brings me to another note; I got to try more high-end products in larger sizes and there was a good mix of both drugstore/affordable and high-end items that provided a well-rounded box. The month's theme was summer essentials and minus mascara and a good sunscreen, the products included hit the mark for me. I really enjoyed my entire experience with Allure Sample Society & Beauty Bar and would love to purchase another box at a later date.
Do I recommend this box?
Absolutely. My $15 was well-spent and I wish I could try it out for another month to see if they'll knock it out of the park for me again. If you want products that have more affordable full-sized prices, then this probably isn't the box for you. But if you want a beauty box that doesn't just consist of makeup and you want more exposure to high-end lines, this is a good subscription service to try out.
Rating:
I loved this box. This is one of the few subscription services in which I loved every product I received. Sample Society definitely has the Mandy stamp of approval!
